Pat Tillman's mom rips ESPYs for naming Prince Harry as recipient of son's award, Pat McAfee says ESPN did it to 'piss people off'

The mother of fallen American hero Pat Tillman is "shocked" that the award named after her son would be given to Britain's Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.

The Pat Tillman Award for Service is an annual award given to an individual or group with a "strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger, Pat Tillman."

The award was established in 2014, ten years after Tillman died in combat in Afghanistan from friendly fire.

Tillman famously turned down a multi-year, multi-million NFL contract to enlist in the U.S. Army after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Recent recipients of the Pat Tillman Award include the Buffalo Bills Training Staff for reviving Damar Hamlin after he suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of a game (2023), retired U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Gretchen Evans (2022), professional footballer Marcus Rashford (2021), and professional boxer Kim Clavel (2020).

On Thursday, ESPN announced that Prince Harry would be the recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service.

"In honor of his tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community through the power of sport, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service, an award given to a person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger, Pat Tillman," the press release stated. "After serving for 10 years in the British Armed Forces, including two tours of duty in Afghanistan as a forward air controller and Apache helicopter pilot, Prince Harry founded The Invictus Games Foundation, continuing his service by creating an international platform to support wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women – both active-duty and veterans – who are navigating both physical and invisible injuries."

Prince Harry will be presented the Pat Tillman Award at the 2024 ESPYs set to air on July 11.

Mary Tillman, the mother of Pat Tillman, was "shocked" that the award would be given to Prince Harry and said she was not consulted on the winner of her son's award.

Mary Tillman told the Daily Mail, "I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award."

She continued, "There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans. These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections, or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognized."

Outspoken sports commentator Pat McAfee – who works at ESPN – was also dismayed by the selection and even ripped his own network.

McAfee said, "It's going to Prince Harry. Who I don’t even think is a Prince anymore, right? He said don’t call me that? See, why does the ESPYs do this s**t?"

"When you do something like this, you know the immediate reaction from humans and from sports fans and like people with like just common sense in brains," McAffe stated on "The Pat McAfee Show."

McAfee said that the decision to give Prince Harry the Pat Tillman Award had the intention of "trying to piss people off."

A petition has been launched to urge ESPN to "rethink" giving the Pat Tillman Award of Service to Prince Harry. At the time of publication, the petition had nearly 25,000 signatures.

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